Bruno Mars’ debut album is being released and the sales are expected to be huge on the heels of his hit single “Just The Way You Are.” You probably all know this by now but BM really needs you folks to get out there and buy that record because he’s about to accrue some hefty legal fees, fighting felony cocaine possession charges. The other notable item on this chart is that current Rikers Island inmate Lil Wayne and Drake have a single called “Gonerrhea” in the Top 10. I don’t know if the misspelling of the sexually transmitted disease “gonorrhea” is intentional or not. I’m actually tempted to go listen to the song because I’m making an uneducated assumption this will be an attempt to find the lighter side of STDs rather than a preachy public service announcement. Somehow I resisted that brief flirtation with listening to a Lil Wayne song on purpose. I think we’re all better off that way. Wayne’s I Am Not A Human Being is also the #1 album this week.

Speaking of albums and music I did actually listen to, we have the new Eric Clapton album Clapton which checks in as the #10 album this week. I’ve had an interesting musical history with Clapton, loving and abandoning him before finally making peace with him. I haven’t been pleased with some of his recent efforts despite making peace with him and embracing a large chunk of his catalog. Some of these more recent albums have been slick, shiny, glossy albums that wore too many artifacts of ProTools sound engineering. I wasn’t sure I was going to plunk down on this effort, featuring appearances by Sheryl Crow and Derek Trucks, but after reading a little about it I found myself intrigued. I went all in and bought the album and I’m impressed. There’s a very relaxed vibe and it fits Clapton well. He’s choosing good songs to cover, arranging them well, and not burdening them with modernity or contrived thematic continuity. It’s not even the “back-to-basics” record we’ve come to expect from aging artists. He’s still trying out different sonic textures and blending them with the sounds he’s commanded for decades.